‘There is a lot to think about for everyone’s future’

A DECADE ago, it employed almost 1,000 people. Known as an excellent employer with excellent terms and conditions, its vast car park boasted more than its fair share of Audi A4s and C-Class Mercedes.

Many of the large homes dotted around the nearby Innishannon and Bandon areas were built before the Celtic Tiger boom with Schering-Plough wages.

But dark rain clouds loomed large over the rolling fields around the Brinny plant in West Cork yesterday as its 519 staff filed quietly from the main buildings to a specially erected marquee where they were told of plans to shed 160 jobs over the next three years.